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Haga and Spies to battle for World Superbike title in Portugal
this Sunday |
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Haga and Spies to battle for World Superbike title in Portugal
this Sunday |
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Haga and Spies to battle for World Superbike title in Portugal this
Sunday After a sensational season of racing, either Japan’s Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) or American Ben Spies (Yamaha) will be crowned the 2009 world superbike champion in Portugal this Sunday. Both riders will be pulling out all stops at Portimao to make that happen, with Haga – who has finished in the top three over the last five years -- currently holding the slight advantage with a 10pt buffer over Spies. But probably of greater significance is Haga’s lighting fast teammate, Michel Fabrizio, who could make a considerable contribution to the Ducati cause. There is no doubt the well-drilled Ducati team will activate a plan to maximise Haga’s return, and Fabrizio, who was still in with a championship sniff until the last round in France, has publicly thrown his full support behind his more senior teammate. But that doesn’t mean 34-year-old Haga will be sitting back and waiting for things to happen. “Last year at Portimao didn’t go to plan; I had some bad luck. This year I am in a better position and now everything comes down to this last event,” said Haga. “My strategy won’t be any different from normal; I always go out with the aim to win and I always give 100 per cent. “I’ve finished second or third in the last five editions of the superbike championship and so all I am missing is the title win, a title I hope to be able to bring home to Ducati and to Japan this weekend.” For his part, the unflappable Spies won’t let all the hype get the better of him – which is probably why Yamaha has decided to fast-track his move into MotoGP in 2010. Spies is fully aware of what needs to be done at Portimao, and he’s confident of rising to the occasion. "I can't wait to get to the circuit and get set up for Sunday's races," said Ben Spies. "We've been fighting hard for race wins all year, and as a rookie on a new bike I think we've achieved some pretty good results. “My focus is completely on going for two race wins on Sunday, I would love to be able to deliver the title for the team as they really deserve it and have worked so hard to make it possible. “We do go well on the Portimao circuit, so I'm going to give it everything I've got to challenge Nori for the wins. There will be a few fast guys up there as always so it should be an exciting race day." Both Haga and Spies have a similar knowledge of Portimao, and both arrive at the final round in excellent form. There are many permutations this weekend, but should the Texan win both races and find himself on equal points with Haga he would win the title on a countback due to a greater number of wins this season. Either way, the battle promises to go right down to the wire. In 2008, Australia’s Troy Bayliss (Ducati) toyed with the opposition at Portimao, as the 4.59km circuit became an instant favourite with its blend of fast sweepers, tight hairpins and changes in elevation. With the stakes far higher this year, it will be fascinating to see how the two races play out. While Fabrizio will be constrained by team orders, riders like Max Biaggi (Aprilia), Jonathan Rea (Honda), Leon Haslam (Honda) and Carlos Checa (Honda) will be able to roam free, injecting even more spice into the Haga-Spies battle. Australia’s Troy Corser (BMW) probably still hasn’t got the speed to go with the leaders, but he’s hoping to finish the season on a high. “It seems to have been quite a long year, but I am satisfied with the progress we have made throughout the season and I am especially pleased with the S 1000 RR in the past few races,” said Corser. “The series is so competitive and hard this year, and often less then half a second is the difference between a good grid place and something further down the order. “If we took our race times from this year and put them into last year’s results, our bike would’ve been on the podium quite a few times, so that shows how much faster everybody is going this year. “I am looking forward to Portimao and finding out what our engineers have come up with since the last round.” For Broc Parkes, it will be his last ride for Kawasaki’s world superbike team. "I'm going into this weekend under mixed emotions as it's been a tough year filled with many ups and downs,” said Parkes. “I can honestly say looking back that I've enjoyed the challenge of the ZX-10R and really appreciated working with the Paul Bird Motorsport and Kawasaki Racing teams. “The team and I have worked really hard, so it would be nice to do well this weekend and end the season on a high. I'm obviously very disappointed that I will not be continuing into 2010 with Kawasaki, but that is the way racing goes.” WORLD SUPERSPORT – CAL CRUTCHLOW LIKELY TO TAKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP In world supersport, Australia Andrew Pitt’s tenure as world champion will officially end, with Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow his likely successor. Crutchlow, who will ride a Yamaha world superbike in 2010 alongside James Toseland, has a 19pt lead over Eugene Laverty (Honda). Meanwhile, Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) and Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki) will finalise fourth position, while the battle for fifth won’t be quite as intense with Queenslander Anthony West not competing because of drastic budget cuts at Stiggy Honda. West is currently 2pts ahead of Fabien Foret (Yamaha), and three in front of Pitt. Garry McCoy (Triumph) and Mark Aitchison (Honda) will be the remaining Australians competing. |
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1 Noriyuki Haga, Japan, Ducati 436 |
1 Cal Crutchlow, UK, Yamaha 230 2 Eugene Laverty, Ireland, Honda 211 3 Kenan Sofuoglu, Turkey, Honda 169 4 Joan Lascorz, Spain, Kawasaki 163 5 Anthony West, Australia, Honda 117 6 Fabien Foret, France, Yamaha 115 7 Andrew Pitt, Australia, Honda 114 8= Garry McCoy, Australia, Triumph 82 8= Mark Aitchison, Australia, Honda 82 10 Massimo Roccoli, Italy, Honda 70 |